Albert Einstein (14 March 1879 18 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical

physicist.[5] Einstein developed the theory of relativity, one of the two pillars
of modern physics (alongside quantum mechanics).[4][6]:274 Einstein's work is also
known for its influence on the philosophy of science.[7][8] Einstein is best known
by the general public for his massenergy equivalence formula E = mc2 (which has
been dubbed "the world's most famous equation").[9] He received the 1921 Nobel
Prize in Physics "for his services to theoretical physics, and especially for his
discovery of the law of the photoelectric effect",[10] a pivotal step in the
evolution of quantum theory.

Near the beginning of his career, Einstein thought that Newtonian mechanics was no
longer enough to reconcile the laws of classical mechanics with the laws of the
electromagnetic field. This led him to develop his special theory of relativity
during his time at the Swiss Patent Office in Bern (19021909), Switzerland.
However, he realized that the principle of relativity could also be extended to
gravitational fields andwith his subsequent theory of gravitation in 1916he
published a paper on general relativity. He continued to deal with problems of
statistical mechanics and quantum theory, which led to his explanations of particle
theory and the motion of molecules. He also investigated the thermal properties of
light which laid the foundation of the photon theory of light. In 1917, Einstein
applied the general theory of relativity to model the large-scale structure of the
universe.[11][12]

Between 1895 and 1914, he lived in Switzerland (except for one year in Prague,
191112), where he received his academic diploma from the Swiss Federal Polytechnic
in Zrich (later the Eidgenssische Technische Hochschule, ETH) in 1900. He later
taught there at the same institute as a professor of theoretical physics between
1912 and 1914 before he left for Berlin. In 1901, after being stateless for more
than five years, Einstein acquired Swiss citizenship, which he kept for the rest of
his life. In 1905, Einstein was awarded a PhD by the University of Zrich. The same
year, his annus mirabilis (miracle year), he published four groundbreaking papers,
which were to bring him to the notice of the academic world, at the age of 26.

He was visiting the United States when Adolf Hitler came to power in 1933 andbeing
Jewishdid not go back to Germany, where he had been a professor at the Berlin
Academy of Sciences. He settled in the United States, becoming an American citizen
in 1940.[13] On the eve of World War II, he endorsed a letter to President Franklin
D. Roosevelt alerting him to the potential development of "extremely powerful bombs
of a new type" and recommending that the U.S. begin similar research. This
eventually led to what would become the Manhattan Project. Einstein supported
defending the Allied forces, but generally denounced the idea of using the newly
discovered nuclear fission as a weapon. Later, with the British philosopher
Bertrand Russell, Einstein signed the RussellEinstein Manifesto, which highlighted
the danger of nuclear weapons. Einstein was affiliated with the Institute for
Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey, until his death in 1955.